Chapter 2Phone Calls Over Hospital Bills

My funeral was a simple, pathetic affair. In the past few years, my daughter had developed a gambling addiction and lost all the property and my pension. She was so destitute she couldn't even afford a coffin.

A dirty sheet served as my shroud, my body laid out unceremoniously in the center of the hall.

Despite the grim setting, the scene was lively. My son and daughter-in-law had made a fortune abroad and returned in glory, inviting all our relatives to my funeral.

But they weren't here to mourn me. They were here to expose my wicked deeds to the world.

To that end, they had even hired a popular online streamer, known for covering emotional family dramas, to broadcast the event live.

My son stood before my body, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I hear my mother died from a relapse of her old illness. I hear she was so poor she couldn't even afford to go to the hospital, that she died in agony at home and her body was only discovered after it had started to rot and stink."

"That can't be right," he continued, a cruel smile on his face. "My mother had so many houses, so much money. She was so sure her daughter was the most devoted child in the world. What happened? Did her devoted daughter not take her to the doctor?"

"I remember when Kate and I first got married. We scraped and borrowed from everyone we knew just to make the down payment on our apartment. When my mother got sick and needed surgery, we sold that apartment without a second thought to pay for her treatment!"

"To take care of her, Kate even quit her job!"

"My mother was bedridden, unable to move. It was Kate and I who cleaned her, who dealt with everything."

"And what did she do? The moment she was out of the hospital, she gave all her houses and money to my sister. Why? Because my sister was so 'devoted' she made a few phone calls!"

"My mother would pack up all the food in the house for my sister, then turn around and demand money from me. I gave her the last fifty dollars I had. And what did she do with it? She treated herself to a steak dinner and brought back a few stale bread rolls for Kate and me!"

"She knew we had sold our home for her, yet she still forced us out! When we were starving and tried to borrow twenty dollars from her, she screamed at us in the middle of the street!"

Kate wiped away her tears. "We were deep in debt because of her surgery. We had to go abroad and take on grueling, under-the-table jobs. We worked from dawn till dusk for years, aging decades in the process, just to get back on our feet!"

"But I suppose we should thank her," she added, her voice bitter. "If she hadn't been so monstrously biased, my husband and I would never have worked so hard. So hard that our bodies are broken, so hard that having another child is now difficult for us."

In front of the camera, my son and daughter-in-law relentlessly recounted my cruelty.

The live stream chat exploded with rage against me.

【Is that even a mother? She's a demon! They should have just let her die in the first place!】

【Look at this pathetic funeral. Seems like the old hag's favorite daughter didn't treat her so well in the end.】

【I'm their neighbor, I can confirm! The daughter is a real piece of work. She was always hitting and cursing at the old woman. When her mom got sick again, she didn't care. She just took her money to the casino!】

【There's a limit to favoritism! The son and daughter-in-law were so devoted, and the daughter was abusive. The old crone still insisted on giving her everything. I wonder if she ever regretted it.】

"I don't regret it."